Posts Tagged waterborne diseases
Bugging out to the wilderness plans
It was probably around 1997 or 1998, some of my buddies were over at my house and we were talking about possible situations that might cause a wilderness bug out. We were talking about an outbreak of the plague, nuclear strikes, nuclear targets, radiation fallout, wind currents,,,,,,; it was one of those brain storming sessions we used to have.
Eventually the topic of firearms came up, choice of calibers, being able to carry plenty of ammo,,, and so on.
It was at this time I pulled out a large ALICE pack, a Mossberg 500 with 18.5 inch barrel and an H&K SP-89 pistol. As I look back on the situation, and what we were discussing, neither of those weapons would be good for survival.
The Mossberg 500 with 18.5 inch barrel and pistol grip would be a terrible choice for hunting. The pistol grip makes the weapon difficult to aim, and the short barrel means a poor pattern. If this shotgun would have had a stock on it and a longer barrel, then it would be a different story.
The H&K SP-89 is a great pistol for close quarters combat, but it would be a poor choice for hunting deer or wild hogs. The lack of a shoulder stock makes the pistol almost impossible to aim.
Fear and rumors during an epidemic
The story looks like its straight from a history book about the dark ages. Doctors without Borders tried to setup a clinic in Haiti to treat cholera patients. Instead of being welcomed by the local people, the doctors were met with fear, a small riot and rock throwing. The situation got so bad that armed troops had to be brought in to protect the clinic and doctors.
Cholera fears spark anti-clinic protest in Haiti
During the middle ages, people that did not understand the plague looked for groups of people to blame for the outbreaks. Finger pointers would pick someone in the village that had a bad reputation, brand them a witch for the outbreak of the plague, and burn them at the stake. An unknown number of Jews were murdered and burned during the Dark Ages for “supposedly” spreading the plague. There are stories of people being rounded up, locked in a barn, and the barn set on fire – because it was believed the people were witches, or were Jews and were responsible for causing the plague.
Sean Penn on the Cholera outbreak in Haiti
Sean Penn talks about the Cholera outbreak in Haiti. By the latest number, over 250 dead and over 3,000 infected. Until people start getting safe drinking water, the problem is just going to get worse. Once Cholera gets into the drinking water supply, the water has to be chemically treated or filtered to remove the…
Cholera post disaster
Here in the good ‘ole USA, do to the massive amounts of chlorine that we put in our water, waterborne diseases are pretty rare. Sure there might be the occasional case of Cryptosporidium, but cases of Cholera, Polio, and Typhoid fever are pretty rare.
So what brought the topic of Cholera up? It was an article on CNN about how fast Cholera can be deadly. This is news to me, I would have never thought that Cholera could turn deadly in just a few hours. I thought that just about all waterborne infections took 3 – 10 days for the first signs to show up, then a few days for dehydration to take place, with death finally occurring. With my understanding of how Cholera progressed, death would occur 7 – 14 days after infection. But after reading that article from CNN, Cholera has earned a new level of respect and fear.
Drinking water in an urban survival situation
If the water went off tonight, what kind of plans do you have in place? As with everything else in my survival plans, water is broken down into 3 phases – short term, medium term, and long term solution.
Short Term – this is your bottled water. Most people have a couple of cases of bottled water laying around somewhere. On a trip to the grocery store most people might grab a case or two of bottled water to have around for guest or parties.
Some survivalist stockpile water in 35 or 55 gallon drums.
When the water goes out, the bottled and stockpiled water will go first. Its convenient, you just un-screw the top of the bottle and the water is ready to drink. Most people like to take the easy way out, and bottled water is about as easy as it gets.
Medium Term – this is your water filters. This may include your Berkey water filters or some kind of backpacking, lightweight water filter.
Waterborne infections
While reading through a government report on waterborne infections, something interesting came out. Cryptosporidium accounted for about 65% of all waterborne infections. Here is the breakdown: Cryptosporidium accounted for 65% E. Coli accounted for 6.3% Campylobacter 6.1% Giardia 2.1% Shigella Sonnei – 8.5% Norovirus – 8.3% Now lets combine that with some more information. Here…
Survivalist Water Filter Options
Why should Survivalist worry about water filters? Because when the city water supply stops, the water in the local lakes and streams may not be safe to drink. Most survivalist have stockpiled water, and that is fine – there is nothing wrong with stockpiling water. But you need some kind of solution for after your stockpiles of water run out. A lot of people might say “I’ll just dig a well if I need water” – ok, lets get back to reality. Most of people are not going to dig a well overnight.
Here is short list of waterborne diseases and parasites:
Cryptosporidium
Cholera
E. Coli
Dysentery
Salmonellosis
Polio
Legionnaires’ disease
Food sources in streams and creeks
If your in a wilderness survival situation, keep in mind that everything in the world needs water. So if you come across a creek, stream, pool of water, pond, lake or river, chances are your gonna be able to find some kind of food source. A couple of days ago my kids and I (Kevin)…
Water wells and urban survival
Water, water everywhere and nar a drop to drink – is a classic statement from the rhyme of the ancient mariner. But in the case of urban survival, there is no water and there is nothing to drink.
Most urbanites depend on water supplied by the city – through the cities water system. However, this is also a weak point in disaster planning. Most cities and towns have prohibited their citizens from digging private wells. If that is the case in your area, its time to get the laws changed. Not being able to have your own water supply makes you and your family a slave to city. Free people do not ask permission to use something that is on their own property – or in the case of ground water, under their property. Slaves ask permission, freemen use what is theirs as they see fit.
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